Nicole Kidman is renting a large Hampstead mansion once owned by Culture Club frontman Boy George while she films the sequel Practical Magic 2, the Daily Mail reported Saturday, saying the actress will pay about £65,000 a month for the Grade II‑listed property.
The Mail on Sunday report said Kidman, 58, moved into the house recently and will remain there through filming at Warner Bros studios in Hertfordshire and at Worcester Park in Surrey.
The property has been in the public eye for decades. The Mail report recalled that Michael Rudetsky, a 27‑year‑old U.S. musician who had travelled to London to work with Boy George, was found dead in the house in 1986; a coroner subsequently recorded that Rudetsky had taken heroin, the paper said. The report also noted that Boy George was dealing with a drug habit at that time.
Boy George, born George O'Dowd, bought the Hampstead home about four decades ago after the international success of Culture Club's single "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?", according to the Mail. The house has been described in coverage as a large, gothic‑style residence in a leafy part of north London.
The Mail quoted an unnamed source saying the property offers space and a desirable location despite its past. The report did not include comment from Kidman, her representatives, Boy George or his representatives.
Practical Magic 2 reunites Kidman with a franchise that began with the 1998 film Practical Magic. Daily Mail coverage places production activities at Warner Bros facilities in Hertfordshire and at locations in Surrey; the paper said Kidman will base herself at the Hampstead property during the shoot.
The Daily Mail is the primary source for details about the rental, the reported monthly cost and the link to the 1986 incident. Public records show the house is listed as Grade II, a designation applied to buildings of special architectural or historic interest in England.
News coverage of celebrity rentals and production logistics often cites local reporting and unnamed sources; reporting on historical incidents tied to private homes has previously drawn renewed attention when those properties are occupied by high‑profile figures. Neither Kidman nor representatives for Boy George provided on‑the‑record responses to the Mail report as of Saturday evening.
The story highlights the intersection of film production, celebrity housing, and the way past events attached to properties can reappear in public reporting when those homes are reoccupied. Further details about the rental agreement, security arrangements and the production schedule were not disclosed in the Mail report.